


A Kiss...

by IseliaDragonwill



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Boys Kissing, Canon Compliant, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fill, Tumblr Prompt, World of Ruin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-10 23:46:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15960125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IseliaDragonwill/pseuds/IseliaDragonwill
Summary: A collection of works, each chapter depicting a different kiss. See chapter titles for pairings. Tags/pairings reflect the entire work and not individual chapters. I will try to tag chapters appropriately as needed.





	1. A Kiss Goodbye - ignoct

**Author's Note:**

> So I thought this might be a fun little challenge to do because my inspiration has run dry (unintentional song reference, kudos if you get it). Then I started working on the prompts I received and...might have gone overboard with this one. I'm not sure that they will all be this long, but I guess I get wordy when it comes to IgNoct. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are loved. <3

Ever since Ignis had come to him with the news that he would be leaving to study abroad, a dark cloud had settled over Noctis. It shouldn’t have bothered him as much as it did. He knew how important it was–not only for himself, but the Crown–for Ignis to advance his studies in preparation to officially adopt his role as Royal Advisor, yet the thought of him going away filled Noctis with dread. 

No matter how many times he had tried to remind himself that Ignis would only be gone a few months, each passing day leading up to his departure only made him retreat further into his shell. He was sure Ignis had noticed. Ignis noticed everything, after all. Though Noctis wanted nothing more than to be around him, to soothe the persistent ache he felt in his heart, Ignis’s presence came with equal parts joy and pain. And most days, the desire to stave off that pain prevailed over all else. 

The night before was Ignis to leave, Noctis didn’t sleep. Alone with his thoughts, sitting in the armchair by the window, he spent hours staring out over the sprawling city with its massive skyscrapers and twinkling lights. For the first time since before he could remember, the one person he treasured most would be gone. Ignis had been so much a part of his daily life that Noctis could hardly fathom what it would be like without him. It hurt more than he ever thought possible, exposing a raw depth of emotion he still was unsure how to process and compounded by the fact that it seemed to extend beyond the lines of duty and friendship. 

To what extent...well, he was afraid to think too hard about it.

When morning came, Ignis let himself into the apartment like it was any other day, seemingly determined not to let the impending trip interfere with his established routines. As he slipped off his shoes in the entryway, Noctis took advantage of having gone unnoticed to study him from across the room. Ignis looked different. Crownsguard training had hardened his already lithe physique and melted away the last vestiges of childhood in his face, leaving behind high cheekbones, a sculpted jaw and a cunning sharpness to his green eyes. He was attractive, yes, but what drew Noctis’s attention at that moment was a furrow in his brow that only tended to make itself known when Ignis was anxious or stressed. He felt a twist in his gut, wondering how long it had been there. Wondering if it was due in part to his own distant behavior.

“Hey Specs.” He ventured a cautious greeting, breaking the silence of the darkened room. 

Ignis nearly jumped out of his skin, clasping a hand over his heart as he caught his breath. “Noct, you scared me half to death. Why are you awake?”

Funny as it was knowing he had gotten the jump on Ignis of all people, Noctis could only manage a half-hearted shrug in response. “Couldn’t sleep.” 

What else was he supposed to say? ‘I was up all night thinking about how I didn’t want you to leave’? No. He couldn’t. It touched too close to thoughts he had been avoiding while he busied himself with layering on half-truths and childish protests in an effort to hide behind things that didn’t truly matter, all to dull the blow of what they both knew was coming. 

Ignis’s expression softened, something in those familiar green eyes conveying that perhaps he understood more in those two words than Noctis was willing to say out loud. He crossed the room and leaned against the arm of the chair where Noctis sat, watching through the window as the sun began to rise. 

The first rays of dawn peeked over the horizon, warming the sky with deep oranges and golds where twilight relinquished its hold. Facets of light reflected off the buildings; the city, a precious jewel nestled in sprawling wilderness beyond. Beautiful as it was, Noctis found it couldn’t compare to how the colors accentuated the silhouette of Ignis’s profile in the morning light and made his eyes sparkle like emeralds.

“It will be some time before I see a view like this again.” Ignis’s voice was wistful, almost nostalgic. “Noct, I…”

Noctis peered up at him through his bangs. A part of him was hopeful–expectant even–though he was too afraid to admit why. All he knew was when Ignis shook his head and steeled his expression, the way his heart cracked was almost too much to bear.

“I hope you will take care of yourself when I’m gone.” Ignis got to his feet and extended a hand to pull Noctis up with him. “Come now, you should try to get some sleep. Although, I will selfishly admit that I was glad to see you awake so I could say a proper goodbye.”

“And what were you going to do if I wasn’t, wake me? You know I sleep like the dead, Specs.” He tried to force a smile, but even his usual banter felt void of the spark Ignis usually inspired in him. Noctis found Ignis’s expression looked much the same.

“Can’t say I thought that far ahead.”

“Really?” Noctis nudged him in the side with his elbow. “That’s not like you.”

Ignis grew quiet. His verdant gaze remained stubbornly at the floor, refusing to meet Noctis’s stormy one. “My mind was otherwise occupied.”

Neither said another word as Ignis guided Noctis down the hallway to his bedroom, each step straining the growing distance between them. Unease bubbled up within Noctis, turning his stomach as thoughts he had fought so long to ignore clawed their way to the surface and demanded his attention. Somewhere along the line, he had come to regard Ignis as more than just his oldest friend and advisor and was just now admitting it. And although it would never be reciprocated, Noctis knew he couldn’t let Ignis leave without showing him what it was that lay secreted in his heart. This would be his only chance before they moved on, into a life of politics and propriety, with only fading dreams of what could have been.

When they reached the doorway, the final precipice between the past and the future, desperate fingers clung to the hem of Ignis’s white, dress shirt as Noctis pulled himself up on his toes. Their lips met, eliciting a surprised gasp from Ignis that sent shivers down Noctis’s spine. He didn't dare open his eyes, lest he be met with disapproval or disappointment, uncertain which was worse. Instead, he looped his arms around Ignis’s neck, let his weight lean into the long lines of his body, and held him closer than he ever dared to imagine, letting the ebb and flow of his lips convey everything he longed to say. 

If Ignis didn't murder him for this, it would be a miracle. Otherwise...well, he had the next few months alone to deal with the consequences. Maybe Ignis would even forget his indiscretion by the time he returned to the Citadel; this kiss, nothing more than a hazy memory cloaked in the dim light of dawn. He only prayed that the rejection would be easier to live with than the perpetual wondering, had he not taken this chance.

Noctis broke the kiss as quickly as he had initiated it, pulling away and immediately averting his gaze in a pitiful attempt to hide the blush that heated his cheeks. “Sorry, I just…” He rubbed at the back of his head. “I guess this is goodbye, huh?”

Ignis sputtered and cleared his throat, somehow managing to regain his composure. “I can't say I was expecting a send-off like that. Something you wish to discuss, Noct?”

His practiced words might have fooled some, but when Noctis lifted his head, he saw a flush on Ignis’s cheeks to rival his own. “You can’t figure it out after that?” A teasing smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Maybe the Council was right to send you to study abroad.”

“You wound me.” Ignis let out a short laugh. “When I return then, perhaps we can revisit this.” 

Not the rejection he had expected, but instead, a promise. With that, the dark cloud that had plagued Noctis the last few weeks finally lifted, bringing with it a light that flooded his entire being. Emboldened, he took a deep breath and stepped closer once more. “I’d...like that. Come back soon, okay? I'm going to miss–”

“Shh.” Ignis leaned down, their foreheads touching as he smiled and whispered, “I know. Me too.”


	2. A Kiss on a Scar - Ardnis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis stumbles upon a piece of history that had been hidden for nearly two thousand years. Unsure if what he has learned is true, he asks the one person who would know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Requested by Latt. Thank you, this one was a lot of fun to write, in a sad sort of way. I feel like most people would immediately think of Ignis's scars (because the poor boy has a lot of them), but I went in a bit of a different direction. Sorry for the heartbreak, but I hope you like it.

“Is this true?”

The question hung in the air, held aloft by thickly settled silence. Despite the stillness in the room, Ignis knew Ardyn was lurking somewhere in the darkness nearby. Time had bolstered familiarity with his routines, his pattern of comings and goings no longer the enigma it once was. Or perhaps, it was simply that he disappeared less often than he used to. Either way, the implications gave rise to conclusions that Ignis was not yet willing to face no matter the persistence with which they gnawed at him, as was the case with most things where Ardyn was involved. 

“Ardyn, I know you’re here.” 

A rustle of fabric to his side confirmed Ignis’s suspicions and preceded an unamused drawl. “Haven’t you grown bold? You assume I’ll somehow know what you’re talking about without being told.” Golden eyes focused on Ignis and narrowed. “I may have a few tricks up my sleeve, but I’m afraid clairvoyance is not one of them.” His tone was characteristically patronizing, as always. And yet, lurking just below the surface...a note of warning, cloaked in feigned indifference.

“I have no time for your games!” Ignis pulled the old tome from under his arm and slammed it on the table, a cloud of dust billowing into the air. “Tell me.”

It was the sudden outburst got Ardyn’s attention, but curiosity that kept it. Only when he realized what it was that Ignis had found did his interest shift to contempt. “How did you get your hands on that?” A low growl rumbled in his throat. 

“No. The truth.” Desperation crept into the frayed edges of Ignis’s voice. How he wished that one of his other senses would prevail where sight had failed; anything to give him a hint of the expression Ardyn wore.

As they both waited for the other to concede, unwilling to be the first to yield and admit to what he knew, the tome sat between them, demanding attention. Everything in those pages should have been lost to time itself; the words within possessing the potential to change so much more than fate, utterly dangerous in the wrong hands. For all their objective worth, both Ignis and Ardyn could only reflect on their respective fears and what those words could mean for the feelings they shared but refused to name. 

It was Ardyn who finally surrendered with a heavy sigh. “I suppose...that all depends on what you consider to be the truth.” 

Eyes of polished stone followed the sound of Ardyn’s footsteps as he made his way across the main room, from the kitchen table to the small sitting area, coming to a stop by the window. “You’ve no doubt figured out that my existence was written out of history. According to what you know, everything in that book…” He pointed at the tome, refusing to look away from the dirt-streaked glass. “...is a lie. Because according to history, there was no Ardyn Izunia.” 

Ignis waited, his stomach sinking further with each passing second as his mind raced ahead to what could be the only logical conclusion–the one he had prayed wasn’t true. 

“However…” Ardyn glanced over his shoulder at Ignis as he continued. “Should you choose to disregard what you think you know, you’ll find that there is no shortage of truth within those pages.”

Bile rose in Ignis’s throat as everything he had learned during his expedition into the Founder King’s tomb with Talcott came rushing back, threatening to overpower him. “No...it can’t be.” The floor might as well have crumbled beneath his feet for how unsteady Ignis felt, his mind reeling at what his journey with Noctis had come to mean in light of what Ardyn had just confirmed of his past. “All of this suffering...it could have all been avoided?” 

For once, any trace of malice was absent from Ardyn’s voice. “A pity, isn’t it?”

“The Astrals…they abandoned you after all had done for them. Abandoned us all, leaving us to fester away from the Starscourge until their Chosen Savior was born...and then...” Ignis covered his mouth, stifling a noise somewhere between a retch and a sob. 

“So, you understand–it was the Astrals that ordained your dear Noctis’s death. I truly bear no ill will towards the boy. He’s merely a victim of circumstance.” He laughed under his breath; a spiteful sound, weighted with the bitterness of two thousand years. 

“Knowing that, do you still see me as a monster?”

To most, Ardyn's question would have been taken as nothing but a taunt. Only years of shared company had taught Ignis the subtle ways in which Ardyn despaired, despite presenting an illusion of callousness. And now, knowing the reason why, it was hardly a wonder he acted as he did. 

Ignis dared to step closer, taking Ardyn by the hand. He pressed a leather-clad palm to his cheek, splaying fingers and threading his own in the spaces between. When he didn't make a move to pull away, Ignis steeled himself and slid his fingers down the back of Ardyn's hand, under pleated sleeves, to his wrist.

He hadn't thought there was anything left of his heart to break.

“Why? You were their savior and still…” Fingertips traced over the timeworn lines of scars where shackles once cut into flesh and bone. “They still turned on you. But why? After all you had done for them, why–?!” 

“Don't. During my time trapped below Angelgard, I spent so long trying to understand. My brother, my people, the very gods…” Ardyn hesitated as though looking for the words to say, then shook his head, wine-colored hair brushing against his ruffled collar. “It was all a dreadful waste. When I finally escaped, it was with no more understanding than when I had been left down there to rot.”

Tears stung the corners of Ignis’s ruined eyes. Would this be Noctis's fate if he failed? How many lifetimes would he suffer, long after Ignis had gone, with no one by his side but his own misery and hatred? He wanted to think Noctis strong enough to never falter and fall, but seeing what the years had done to Ardyn made him wonder if there was any amount of love and adoration that could ever change such a fate if he found himself denied ascension. 

“Ardyn, I…” Ignis started.

“Spare me your pity.”

Knowing nothing else to do to ease his pain, Ignis turned his head to kiss the scars that circled Ardyn’s wrist. And as much as he wanted to, Ardyn found he couldn't pull away. He could only gather Ignis closer, secretly relishing the warmth of his lips on his chilled skin.

“You never answered my question.”

A clouded eye flitted back and forth before sliding closed, Ignis’s head coming to a rest on Ardyn’s shoulder. “Would it change anything?”

There was no answer; only a litany of unspoken truths that hung over them in the darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](https://iseliadragonwill.tumblr.com) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/FallenIsel)!
> 
> If you want to send in a prompt, the original post is [here](https://iseliadragonwill.tumblr.com/post/177329883749/send-me-a-ship-and-a-number-and-i-will-write-a).


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